Premier League stars refuse to back down as they tell their clubs they will NOT be forced into taking pay cuts in fresh talks led by Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson
- Players from all 20 Premier League clubs have again been holding pay cut talks
- Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson was at the forefront of discussions this week
- Star are not willing to accept wages being slashed, but are open to deferrals
- Players at clubs threatened with relegation are worried of a double wage drop
- READ: Premier League and PFA in pay-cut stand-off over wage reductions
The Premier League‘s players remain adamant they will not be forced into taking pay cuts by their clubs following fresh talks this week.
But they are willing to discuss deferrals on the condition that they are guaranteed to get their money back.
Top-flight players are in no mood to back down and accept salary reductions due to coronavirus leaving their clubs facing frustration.
Premier League players have continued to stand firm in their stance over a proposed pay cut
Following Saturday’s meeting to discuss the league’s 30 per cent wage cut proposal which ended in stalemate, conversations have continued among players to finalise their stance on the issue.
A further video conference involving all Premier League’s 20 captains, with Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson again at the forefront, and each club’s PFA representative has taken place this week along with calls involving smaller groups of players.
And collectively they insist that no player should accept any request from their club to take home a lower salary.
Liverpool captain Jordan Henderson was once again at the forefront of talks including clubs
While top-flight chiefs were keen to bring in a league-wide proposal, there is a growing belief that a better approach might be for each club to handle their own situations.
As reported by Sportsmail on Monday, some lesser-paid players are reluctant to agree to wage reductions as any drop will hit them harder than the higher-paid stars at bigger clubs.
There have also been concerns raised at clubs with relegation fears about their players suffering a reduction now and then another one if they fall into the Championship due to relegation wage drop clauses in their contracts.
The PFA have questioned whether clubs genuinely need to make any cuts, with chief executive Gordon Taylor confident clubs have the money to pay their staff for the rest of the season.
That belief is shared by many of the players who feel the onus should not be on them to find the solution to the game’s cash crisis.
While they are keen to do their bit, especially to support the NHS, the pressure placed on them to sacrifice money, from both inside and outside of the game, has not gone down well increasing their defiance and strengthening their determination to ensure that any gestures are on their own terms.
Players from clubs facing relegation fear a double wage drop if proposals are accepted
That is shown in their willingness across the league to hold talks with their clubs about deferring parts of their salaries to help out but only on the condition that all of the money was certain to be returned at a later date.
That would differ slightly to the Premier League proposal. Players would only receive all their money back if all remaining matches were played in stadiums with crowd and there were no refunds due to broadcasters.
The expectation is that when football returns games will be played behind closed doors.